In recent years, a deficiency of vitamin D has been linked to type 2 diabetes and heart disease, two illnesses that commonly occur together and are the most common cause of illness and death in Western countries. Both disorders are rooted in chronic inflammation, which leads to insulin resistance and the buildup of artery-clogging plaque. Now, new research in mice at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests vitamin D plays a major role in preventing the inflammation that leads to type 2 diabetes and atherosclerosis. Further, the way key immune cells behave without adequate vitamin D may...

A new study from MIT reveals one reason why people who suffer from chronic inflammatory diseases such as colitis have a higher risk of mutations that cause cancer. The researchers also found that exposure to DNA-damaging chemicals after a bout of inflammation boosts these mutations even more, further increasing cancer risk. The findings confirm a longstanding theory about why inflammation and cancer are linked, and offer possible ways to help prevent and treat cancer, says Bevin Engelward, an MIT professor of biological engineering and senior author of a Jan. 15 PLoS Genetics paper describing the findings. “Chronic inflammation drives a...

ROXANNE PEREZ had never really been sick in her life until, at age 27, the roof began falling in. During a Fourth of July weekend at the beach in 2000, she was rushed to an emergency room suffering from convulsions. In the months after, she had blood transfusions and her spleen removed. Then, in 2001, she suffered a heart attack that left her heart permanently weakened. Ms. Perez, who lives in San Antonio, had to give up her job, her home and car and move in with her parents. Now 32, she suffers from frequent fatigue, made worse when she...

Body reveals its inflammation 'off switch' 18:00 01 October 2006 NewScientist.com news service Deb MacKenzie Researchers have shed light on how the body switches off its immune response, a key step towards understanding autoimmune diseases and controlling inflammation. When immune cells die, they transform into “sponges” that soak up the molecules responsible for causing inflammation, researchers have discovered. The new information may lead to better drugs to treat inflammatory disorders, such as eczema. Inflammation is characterised by a red, painful swelling around a wound caused by blood fluids, proteins and immune cells flooding into an area of the body in...

Two years of research by a Nigerian scientist has shown that sufferers of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease could be helped by punicalagin, a compound extracted from pomegranates. Olumayokun Olajide from the University of Huddersfield in West Yorkshire showed how punicalagin could inhibit inflammation in specialised brain cells known as micrologia. He also found the painful inflammation that accompanies illnesses such as rheumatoid arthritis and Parkinson's disease could be reduced using the same drug. "We do know that regular consumption of pomegranate has a lot of health benefits, including prevention of neuro-inflammation related to dementia," Olajide added.

Scientists at Oxford University and Kings College London develop blood test which can predict the onset of Alzheimer's so that drugs could target the disease before symptoms appear A blood test has been developed to predict if someone will develop Alzheimer’s within a year, raising hopes that the disease could become preventable. After a decade of research, scientists at Oxford University and King’s College London are confident they have found 10 proteins which show the disease is imminent. Clinical trials will start on people who have not yet developed Alzheimer’s to find out which drugs halt its onset. The blood...

Scientists led by Dr David Fairlie from the University of Queensland, Australia, have found abnormal amounts of an inflammatory protein called PAR2 in the fat tissues of overweight and obese rats and humans. PAR2 is also increased on the surfaces of human immune cells by common fatty acids in the diet. When obese rats on a diet high in sugar and fat were given a new oral drug that binds to PAR2, the inflammation-causing properties of this protein were blocked, as were other effects of the high-fat and high-sugar diet, including obesity itself. "This important new finding links obesity and...

Obesity-related diseases such as Type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome are triggered by a lack of oxygen in adipose cells, according to a study led by UC San Diego researchers. An excess of fatty acids causes an increase in oxygen consumption, which outstrips the supply, triggering hypoxia, the study found. This leads to inflammation in the adipose cells, which in turn leads to insulin resistance, obesity and related diseases. And that's the short version. The full chain of events is even more complicated. The study, performed in mice, points to possible therapies in people, said researchers led by Dr. Jerrold...

Scientists are reporting a significant milestone for cancer research after charting 21 major mutations behind the vast majority of tumours. The disruptive changes to the genetic code, reported in Nature, accounted for 97% of the 30 most common cancers. Finding out what causes the mutations could lead to new treatments. Some causes, such as smoking are known, but more than half are still a mystery. Cancer Research UK said it was a fascinating and important study. A tumour starts when one of the building blocks of bodies, a cell, goes wrong. Over the course of a lifetime cells pick up...

Scientists led by Dr David Fairlie from the University of Queensland, Australia, have found abnormal amounts of an inflammatory protein called PAR2 in the fat tissues of overweight and obese rats and humans. PAR2 is also increased on the surfaces of human immune cells by common fatty acids in the diet. When obese rats on a diet high in sugar and fat were given a new oral drug that binds to PAR2, the inflammation-causing properties of this protein were blocked, as were other effects of the high-fat and high-sugar diet, including obesity itself.Zucker Rat, a pet rat that has developed...

Love dark chocolate? Now you can eat it with much less guilt because scientists have discovered why it is so good for us. Previous studies have found daily consumption of dark chocolate reduces blood pressure and is good for the heart. Now scientists have discovered why this happens - and its down to how our guts ferment the fibre in cocoa beans. Researcher Maria Moore, from Louisiana State University said: 'We found that there are two kinds of microbes in the gut: the 'good' ones and the 'bad' ones. 'The good microbes, such as Bifidobacterium and lactic acid bacteria, feast...

Processed food NOT fat is the real cause of heart disease, claims heart surgeon who says a diet of natural food can even reverse the illness Dr. Dwight Lundell admits prescribing cholesterol-lowering medications, and a low-fat, high-simple carbohydrate diet for two-and-a-half decades was misguided 'These recommendations are no longer scientifically or morally defensible,' he writes in an essay that has ignited the Internet He vlaims these foods actively destroy the walls of our blood vessels by causing chronic inflammation, which in turn causes heart disease The cardiac surgeon recommends only eating foods your grandmother, or great-grandmother, would recognise An Arizona...

The scientists discovered that the ceramide-1 phosphate transport protein (CPTP) regulates levels of biologically active lipids, which are molecules such as fatty acids that often play a role in cell signaling. They found that CPTP's main function is to transport ceramide-1-phosphate (C1P), a lipid that helps regulate cell growth, survival, migration and inflammation. Specifically, C1P increases the production of pro-inflammatory eicosanoids â€“ powerful signaling molecules that contribute to chronic inflammation in diseases such as cancer, asthma, atherosclerosis and thrombosis â€“ and the discovery of CPTP sheds a light on the cellular mechanisms that contribute to these diseases. "We may have...

Chester, NJâ€”A recent clinical trial published in Phytotherapy ResearchÂ indicated that a high-absorption curcumin (BCM-95 from Dolcas Biotech, based here) had similar effects as a generic form of Prozac (fluoxetine) on depression, sans the adverse effects. â€śIt is a novel and surprising application for this natural medicine,â€ť said Ajay Goel, Ph.D., Baylor Research Institute and Charles A Sammons Cancer Center, Baylor University Medical Center and study co-author. â€śPeople with depression have higher levels of inflammation in the brain. Also, people with depression have lower levels of neurogenesis in the brain, meaning they make fewer new brain cells than people with no...

Revised guidelines for heart health are set to move away from target-based approach. Soon after Joseph Francis learned that his levels of ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol sat at twice the norm, he discovered the short­comings of cholesterol-lowering drugs — and of the clinical advice guiding their use. Francis, the director of clinical analysis and reporting at the Veterans Health Administration (VA) in Washington DC, started taking Lipitor (atorvastatin), a cholesterol-lowering statin and the best-selling drug in pharmaceutical history. His LDL plummeted, but still hovered just above a target mandated by clinical guidelines. Adding other medications had no effect, and upping the...

A new study has outlined for the first time a biological mechanism by which zinc deficiency can develop with age, leading to a decline of the immune system and increased inflammation associated with many health problems, including cancer, heart disease, autoimmune disease and diabetes. The research was done by scientists in the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University and the OSU College of Public Health and Human Sciences. It suggests that it's especially important for elderly people to get adequate dietary intake of zinc, since they may need more of it at this life stage when their ability to...

At its most fundamental level, diabetes is a disease characterized by stress -- microscopic stress that causes inflammation and the loss of insulin production in the pancreas, and system-wide stress due to the loss of that blood-sugar-regulating hormone. Now, researchers led by scientists at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) have uncovered a new key player in amplifying this stress in the earliest stages of diabetes: a molecule called thioredoxin-interacting protein (TXNIP). The molecule, they've discovered, is central to the inflammatory process that leads to the death of the cells in the human pancreas that produce insulin. "This molecule...

Study Evaluating Intravenous Progesterone Formulation BHR-100 to Treat Traumatic Brain Injury Set to Complete in 2013 BHR Pharma's SyNAPSe® clinical trial is now enrolling patients suffering from severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) at 14 sites in Thailand, China and Russia. The trial currently has 153 participating sites (Level 1 and 2 trauma centers) worldwide. The 500th of 1,180 patients needed to complete the global Phase III, multi-center trial was enrolled at the end of May in the United States. SyNAPSe is evaluating the effectiveness of BHR-100, a... --snip-- TBI is a serious public health problem that affects more than 1.7...

In November 2008, when he was just 6, William Moller had his first epileptic seizure, during a reading class at school. For about 20 seconds, he simply froze in place, as if someone had pressed a pause button. He could not respond to his teacher. This is known as an absence seizure, and over the next year William, now 10, who lives with his family in Brooklyn, went from having one or two a day to suffering constant seizures. Not all were absence seizures; others were frightening tonic-clonics, also known as grand mals, during which he lost consciousness and convulsed....

Researchers at NYU School of Medicine have, for the first time, identified a single gene that simultaneously controls inflammation, accelerated aging and cancer. "This was certainly an unexpected finding," said principal investigator Robert J. Schneider, PhD, the Albert Sabin Professor of Molecular Pathogenesis, associate director for translational research and co-director of the Breast Cancer Program at NYU Langone Medical Center. "It is rather uncommon for one gene to have two very different and very significant functions that tie together control of aging and inflammation. The two, if not regulated properly, can eventually lead to cancer development. It's an exciting scientific...

A unique new medicine that can start and accelerate healing of diabetic and other chronic wounds is being developed at Umeĺ University in Sweden. After several years of successful experimental research, it is now ready for clinical testing. Behind this new medicine is a group of researchers at the Department of Medical Chemistry and Biophysics who have made the unique finding that the protein plasminogen is a key-regulator that initiates and accelerates wound healing by triggering the inflammatory reaction. Their discovery is now being published in the journal Blood. “Today we have the knowledge needed to develop a medicine,” says...

Scientists from Queen Mary, University of London have found a new therapeutic target to combat inflammation. The research, published in the journal Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences, revealed tiny organelles called primary cilia are important for regulating inflammation. The findings could lead to potential therapies for millions of people who suffer from arthritis. Dr Martin Knight who led the research at Queen Mary's School of Engineering and Materials Science said: "Although primary cilia were discovered more than a century ago, we're only beginning to realise the importance they play in different diseases and conditions, and the potential therapeutic benefits that...

Last year, he began taking Anatabloc, an new anti-inflammatory pill. He liked it so much, he began recommending it to friends, and the company has become one of his sponsors. "It's not going to help my back, but my hands felt better and the areas around the back where I've had hiccups in the past, I haven't had," said Couples, who said his inflammation level has come down. "I'm not going to tell you that it's a wonder drug, but I would say I feel 30 percent better. If I feel 70 percent on a bad day, instead of 50...

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Exenatide, a drug commonly prescribed to help patients with type 2 diabetes improve blood sugar control, also has a powerful and rapid anti-inflammatory effect, a University at Buffalo study has shown. The study of the drug, marketed under the trade name Byetta, was published recently in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. "Our most important finding was this rapid, anti-inflammatory effect, which may lead to the inhibition of atherosclerosis, the major cause of heart attacks, strokes and gangrene in diabetics," says Paresh Dandona, MD, UB Distinguished Professor in the Department of Medicine, UB School of Medicine...

Pharmacists of the University Jena analyze why men suffer more rarely from inflammatory diseases than women It’s all down to the testosterone: men are usually more muscular than women, they have deeper voices and more body hair. And – men are less susceptible to inflammatory diseases and allergies than women. This is also due to the male sex hormones as pharmacists at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Germany) have shown in a recent study. “It is mostly women who are affected by diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis or asthma“, Professor Dr. Oliver Werz from the Jena University explains. Although this...

Your body is in a constant battle to maintain its delicate acid alkaline balance. Over acidity can cause a host of diseases and other problems to manifest in the body. This makes a healthy alkaline food diet all the more important for the sick, to adhere to a 20/80 rule acid/alkaline diet. Those suffering from fibromyalgia need to pay close attention to their acid/alkaline balance. St. Martins Press – Your favorite snack or dessert could trigger symptoms of fibromyalgia. Tender pain, fatigue, trouble with memory and digestive problems are just a few of the problems experienced by women with fibromyalgia....

Researchers at BRIC, the University of Copenhagen, have discovered that the human body can create its own vaccine, which boosts the immune system and helps prevent chronic inflammatory diseases. The researchers’ results have just been published in the prestigious Journal of Clinical Investigation and may have significant consequences in developing new medicine.Researchers at the Biotech Research and Innovation Centre (BRIC) at the University of Copenhagen have discovered a protein normally found in the body that can act to prevent chronic tissue inflammation. When administered in the form of a therapeutic vaccine it is able to effectively prevent and treat a...

Scientists at the Univ. of Pennsylvania School of Medicine discovered that a dietary antioxidant found in such vegetables as broccoli and cauliflower protects cells from damage caused by chemicals generated during the body’s inflammatory response to infection and injury. The finding has implications for such inflammation-based disorders as cystic fibrosis (CF), diabetes, heart disease, and neurodegeneration. Through cell-culture studies and a synthesis of known antioxidant biochemistry, Zhe Lu, professor of physiology, Yanping Xu , senior research investigator, and Szilvia Szép , postdoctoral researcher, showed that the antioxidant thiocyanate normally existing in the body protects lung cells from injuries caused by...

Feeding obese mice omega-3 fatty acids reduced inflammation that can lead to diabetes, a new study finds. By studying fat tissue in the mice consuming fish oil, researchers found omega-3 fatty acids seem to act on a particular receptor on cells, GPR120, which, when activated, blocks inflammatory processes. Chronic inflammation can lead to insulin resistance, a precursor to diabetes. Therefore, "if we can fix the inflammation part, it's possible that we could prevent insulin resistance or even ameliorate diabetes," Talukdar explained.

Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center researchers have uncovered a new link between chronic inflammation and cancer. Although cancers do not always cause inflammation, chronic inflammation is known to help tumor cells grow. In an article published in the June issue of Nature, VCU Massey scientists Sarah Spiegel, Ph.D., and Tomasz Kordula, Ph.D., and their co-authors examine how sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), a lipid mediator in the blood that influences immune cell circulation, also regulates inflammation and cancer. They reported that S1P is a missing cofactor that is required for the activity of TRAF2, the key regulator of NF-kappaB, which acts as...

Chokeberry bushes have for centuries been residents of eastern deciduous forests where their bright red and dark purple fruits continue to be favorite snacks of local bird species. Native Americans have also traditionally eaten dried chokeberries and prepared teas from parts of the plant, and several domesticated varieties now grace contemporary lawns and gardens from coast to coast. However, the chokeberry (Aronia) is enjoying a new claim-to-fame as a potentially powerful antioxidant, and can now be found for sale in the dietary supplement and "health food" aisles of your local pharmacies and grocery stores. What makes the humble chokeberry so...

With the government’s blessing, a drug giant is about to expand the market for its blockbuster cholesterol medication Crestor to a new category of customers: as a preventive measure for millions of people who do not have cholesterol problems... --snip-- But critics said the claim of cutting heart disease risk in half — repeated in news reports nationwide — may have misled some doctors and consumers because the patients were so healthy that they had little risk to begin with. The rate of heart attacks, for example, was 0.37 percent, or 68 patients out of 8,901 who took a sugar...

SALT LAKE CITY—Treating virulent influenza, sepsis, and other potentially deadly infections long has focused on looking for ways to kill viruses and bacteria. But new research from the University of Utah and Utah State University shows that modulating the body's own overeager inflammatory response to infection may help save more lives. In a study published March 17 in Science Translational Medicine, researchers led by U of U cardiologist Dean Y. Li, M.D., Ph.D., professor of internal medicine and director of the Molecular Medicine Program, shows that protecting blood vessels from hyper-inflammatory response to infection reduced mortality rates in mouse models...

The signaling molecule CD95L, known as "death messenger," causes an inflammatory process in injured tissue after spinal cord injuries and prevents its healing. This discovery was published by scientists of the German Cancer Research Center. In mice, the researchers found out that if they switch off CD95L, the injured spinal cord heals and the animals regain better ability to move. Therefore, substances which block the death messenger might offer a new approach in the treatment of severe inflammatory diseases. A couple of years ago, Dr. Ana Martin-Villalba of the German Cancer Research Center already succeeded in reducing the effects of...

Appearing in the January 2010 issue of JLRFor those who do not drink, researchers have found that six essential oils –from thyme, clove, rose, eucalyptus, fennel and bergamot—can suppress the inflammatory COX-2 enzyme, in a manner similar to resveratrol, the chemical linked with the health benefits of red wine. They also identified that the chemical carvacrol was primarily responsible for this suppressive activity. These findings, appearing in the January issue of Journal of Lipid Research, provide more understanding of the health benefits of many botanical oils and provide a new avenue for anti-inflammatory drugs. Essential oils from plants have long...

COLLEGE STATION – A gene commonly studied by cancer researchers has been linked to the metabolic inflammation that leads to diabetes. Understanding how the gene works means scientists may be closer to finding ways to prevent or cure diabetes, according to a study by Texas AgriLife Research appearing in the Journal of Biological Chemistry. "Because we understand the mechanism, or how the gene works, we believe a focus on nutrition will find the way to both prevent and reverse diabetes," said Dr. Chaodong Wu, AgriLife Research nutrition and food scientist who authored the paper with the University of Minnesota's Dr....

URBANA – Two new University of Illinois studies report that lunasin, a soy peptide often discarded in the waste streams of soy-processing plants, may have important health benefits that include fighting leukemia and blocking the inflammation that accompanies such chronic health conditions as diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. "We confirmed lunasin's bioavailability in the human body by doing a third study in which men consumed 50 grams of soy protein--one soy milk shake and a serving of soy chili daily--for five days. Significant levels of the peptide in the participants' blood give us confidence that lunasin-rich soy foods can be...

Move over, red wine. Make room for chocolate milk. A new study suggests that regular consumption of skim milk with flavonoid-rich cocoa may reduce inflammation, potentially slowing or preventing development of atherosclerosis. Researchers noted, however, that the effect was not as pronounced as that seen with red wine. Scientists in Barcelona, Spain, recruited 47 volunteers ages 55 and older who were at risk for heart disease. Half were given 20-gram sachets of soluble cocoa powder to drink with skim milk twice a day, while the rest drank plain skim milk. After one month, the groups were switched. Blood tests found...

Many strokes cannot be explained by known risk factors like high blood pressure and smoking, and scientists have speculated that infection could play a role. A new study is linking cumulative exposure to five common pathogens with an increased risk for stroke. The infections in order of significance are Chlamydia pneumoniae, Helicobacter pylori, cytomegalovirus and herpes simplex viruses 1 and 2, according to the study, published online on Nov. 9 in The Archives of Neurology. “Each of these common pathogens may persist after an acute infection and contribute to perpetuating a state of chronic low-level infection,” said the paper’s lead...

Scientists from Scotland and Singapore have unraveled a mystery that has perplexed scientists since red wine was first discovered to have health benefits: how does resveratrol control inflammation? New research published in the August 2009 print issue of The FASEB Journal, not only explains resveratrol's one-two punch on inflammation, but also show how it - or a derivative -can be used to treat potentially deadly inflammatory disease, such as appendicitis, peritonitis, and systemic sepsis.

Curcumin, an ingredient in the curry spice turmeric, may help prevent heart failure. That's according to two new studies done on rats, not people. In both studies, researchers gave curcumin to rats. The rats then got surgery or drugs designed to put them at risk of heart failure. The rats that got curcumin showed more resistance to heart failure and inflammation than comparison groups of rats that didn't get curcumin. Also, in one of the studies, the researchers saw signs that curcumin treatment reversed heart enlargement. The other study didn't include that experiment. Together, the studies suggest that curcumin short-circuited...

Major depressive disorder is a common and complex condition that impacts about 15% of the population of the United States, yet very little is known about the mechanisms behind the psychiatric disorder. What is known is that there are clinical parallels between depressive symptoms and the symptoms of certain inflammatory disorders. In findings published electronically in Molecular Psychiatry, researchers from University of Miami found polymorphisms in inflammation-related genes that are associated with susceptibility to major depression and antidepressant response. Two genes critical for T-cell function in the immune system have been associated with susceptibility for major depressive disorder and antidepressant...

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Men with high levels of hostility, anger and depression show increases in a key marker of inflammation over time, which may put them at greater risk of heart disease, a new study shows."This is further data suggesting that this stuff is bad for your health," Dr. Stephen H. Boyle of Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, the study's lead author, told Reuters Health. "It's not good to have high levels of hostility, anger and depression."Such psychological factors have long been linked to heart disease, but the mechanism through which they harm the heart...

Psoriasis linked to tripled risk of heart attack 21:00 10 October 2006 NewScientist.com news service Roxanne Khamsi Patients with the common inflammatory skin condition psoriasis have a tripled risk of heart attack, a new study has revealed. The study’s researchers speculate that the systemic inflammation seen in psoriasis might weaken the cardiovascular system, thereby increasing the chance of such heart problems. Psoriasis is an inflammatory system disorder that affects around 2% of people in the US and is characterised by sore, scaly patches of red skin. Recent studies suggest that genetic mutations and lifestyle factors such as stress and smoking...

An arthritis drug shows promise in a small, experimental study targeting a root cause of Alzheimer's -- inflammation in the brain. WALTER Skotchdopole worked for 20 years as a police officer and 20 years in the film industry before succumbing to the relentless decline of Alzheimer's disease. In his prime, he joked with everyone he met. By his early 70s, he had become a shell of his former self. "He's there, but he's not," says his son James Skotchdopole. "There's no real interaction, no real stake in life." Walter Skotchdopole had tried several drugs, with no noticeable improvement. But when...

Immortality is within our grasp . . . In Fantastic Voyage, high-tech visionary Ray Kurzweil teams up with life-extension expert Terry Grossman, M.D., to consider the awesome benefits to human health and longevity promised by the leading edge of medical science--and what you can do today to take full advantage of these startling advances. Citing extensive research findings that sound as radical as the most speculative science fiction, Kurzweil and Grossman offer a program designed to slow aging and disease processes to such a degree that you should be in good health and good spirits when the more extreme...

HOUSTON (Sept. 16, 2005) - Researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center and The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston have found that human fat cells produce a protein that is linked to both inflammation and an increased risk of heart disease and stroke. They say the discovery, reported in Journal of the American College of Cardiology, goes a long way to explain why people who are overweight generally have higher levels of the molecule, known as C-reactive protein (CRP), which is now used diagnostically to predict future cardiovascular events. And they also report...

The researchers, from Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, discovered a genetic ''master switch" in the liver that is turned on when people become obese. Obesity has long been linked to diabetes, but the reason, until now, has been unknown. Joslin researchers found that once on, this switch produces low-level inflammation, which disrupts the body's ability to process insulin, causing type 2 diabetes. Reasoning that aspirin-like drugs are used to quell inflammation, they successfully used the drugs, called salicylates, to eliminate the symptoms of type 2 diabetes in mice. Human tests are already underway in Boston, though no results have been...

Reducing the levels of a protein secreted by the body during inflammation may be as powerful in slowing heart disease and preventing heart attacks and deaths as lowering cholesterol, two teams of researchers are reporting. The studies, published in Thursday's issue of The New England Journal of Medicine, provide the strongest evidence yet for the role of the protein, known as CRP for C-reactive protein, in heart disease. The participants were patients with severe heart disease who were taking high doses of statin drugs, which lower both cholesterol and CRP. Lower CRP levels, the researchers found, were linked to a...